More than half of companies responding to a Renewable Energy Association (REA) survey have said they do not believe that the Contracts for Difference scheme will be effective in bringing forward new renewable power capacity.

In the first industry confidence survey, undertaken by REA, 51 per cent of respondents were concerned by the Contracts for Difference scheme that will replace the Renewables Obligation in 2017.

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Of the 68 senior managers from companies surveyed, only 4 per cent believe the UK has a ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ chance of meeting its 2020 renewable energy target.

The trade body has also put together a Renewables Industry Confidence Index, which has a score of 47 per cent with the REA believing a score of 75 per cent would represent a healthy and confident industry.

REA chief executive Gaynor Hartnell said: “We will repeat this survey every six months in order to build up a comprehensive picture showing trends in confidence levels. Billions of pounds of investment needs to flow into renewables infrastructure. Our aim is to provide Government and stakeholders with a tool to gauge how policies are being received.

“The UK has to achieve a higher growth rate than any other Member State in order to reach its 2020 renewables target. Mixed messages remain a problem and industry needs policy certainty and political consistency. The prize is up to 400,000 jobs by 2020, economic growth and greatly improved energy security.”